North Atlanta Real Estate Voice

Archive for the 'Home Buyers' Category

Revised Housing Tax Credit Stimulus Bill (H.B. 261) Passes Georgia House; Senate Now Considering

Back on Febrary 22, 2009, I posted my concerns regarding H.B. 261.  While good intentioned, that bill had the potential to cause more harm than good.  I applaud the Georgia Assembly for taking matters into their own hands and considering and creating a bill that will get the Georgia housing market back on track.

H.B. 261 went through some revisions and passed the House yesterday 162-4.  I believe the changes in the bill make it a much more effective stimulus tool and could re-start the stalled Georgia housing market.

The key features of the bill, as I understand them are outlined as follows:

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10 Common Home Inspection Related Questions Answered By The Experts

ASK THE EXPERTS will be an occasional feature where I interview industry professionals and get their insight to the most commonly asked questions in their field.

This post features Brodie Brown with Browntree Inspections and Scott Berlyoung with Alpha Home Services.  I asked both of them to provide answers to these questions.  Click on read the rest of the story for the full interview. READ THE REST OF THE STORY

10 Tips for First Time Home Buyers

Attention first time home buyers (you know who you are, don’t you?).  Now is the time to take advantage of lower house prices, low interest rates and an amazing $8000 tax credit.  But don’t wait too long, the tax credit ends November 30, 2009 and interest rates and prices won’t stay low forever.  For more tips, read the rest of the story.

1) Are you a first time home buyer? It may sound like an easy question but you can actually qualify to be a first time home buyer if you have not owned a home in the last 3 years.  Of course, of you’ve never owned a home before, you’re covered.  Knowing this is important as you can take advantage of the current $8000 first-time home buyer tax credit.

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10 Common Mortgage and Financing Related Questions Answered By The Experts

ASK THE EXPERTS will be an occasional feature where I interview industry professionals and get their insight to the most commonly asked questions in their field.

This post features Michael Lappin with Stellar Mortgage, Beth Cork with Academy Residential Mortgage, Amy Tyson with Envoy Mortgage and George Sayegh with First Metropolitan Mortgage.  I asked all of them to provide answers to these questions.  Click on read the rest of the story for the full interview. READ THE REST OF THE STORY

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – What We Actually Got

After all the speculation and promise that this bill would jump start the economy, here is a breakdown of what’s included in the bill.

H.R. 1, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” passed the House on February 13, 2009, by a vote of 246 – 184. Later that day, the Senate also passed the bill by a vote of 60 – 38. The President signed the bill on February 17, 2009. The bill is a $780 billion package, with roughly 35% of the package devoted to tax cuts (mostly for 2009) and the rest to spending intended to occur in 2009 and 2010. READ THE REST OF THE STORY

Georgia House Considering It’s Own Housing Tax Credit Stimulus – H.B. 261

H.B. 261 has been introduced by several Georgia representatives in an effort to create a tax credit to stimulate the Georgia housing market.  While I applaud our representatives’ initiative to pass a stimulus that makes an impact on our local housing market, I am concerned that as it is currently proposed, this bill may create a negative effect on the market.

Please note that this bill has not been passed or voted on as of this posting.  I am also attempting to get clarification on some of the terms so some of my assumptions may turn out to be inaccurate.  If course, you can read the bill for yourself and see if I am missing something.  In any case, I will outline the key facts of the bill as I understand them and note my concerns. READ THE REST OF THE STORY

10 Keys To Making A Successful Offer To Buy A Foreclosure – What You Need To Know

Given the current market, I get a lot of calls asking about foreclosures.  If you listen to the news, you’d think that every other house on the market is in foreclosure or close to it.  In fact, according to the Mortgage Banker’s Association, at the end of last year, just over 9 percent of all home loans in the United States were in arrears or already in foreclosure.  That means that more than 9 out of 10 homes are NOT in foreclosure.  However, if the current trends continue, the percentage of homes in foreclosure could rise to 16 percent by 2012 according to a report by Credit Suisse.  Regardless of what the future holds, there are several key differences between a foreclosure sale and a market sale.  They are: READ THE REST OF THE STORY

Silver Lining – First Time Home Buyers To Get $8000 Tax Credit On 2009 Home Purchase

The revised and soon to be signed 2009 Stimulus bill still offers some great housing incentives but just not to everyone.  Commencing on the date the bill is signed into law, first time homebuyers, defined as someone who has not owned a home in the last three years, may receive up to an $8000 tax credit if they buy a home between now and November 30, 2009.

While the original language included a $15,000 tax credit for all buyers, it was trimmed in order the get enough votes to pass the House.  Here are the key details of the bill:

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Brand New Home For Sale in Decatur On Clifton Springs Court Offers Incredible Price & Value

For more information or to schedule a tour of the home, please contact Barry Wolfert at 770-656-7551 or email me.

3146 Clifton Springs Court, Decatur, GA 30034

Click for a Virtual Tour.

This home was bought out of foreclosure unfinished.  The seller is a top in-town remodeler who completed the construction and is now offering the home for sale.  This beautiful home offers lots of open space with high ceilings, hardwoods floors and a full basement.

Located in near Flat Shoals Road, this home is convenient to I-20 and I-285.

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